Top Ten – Most watched sports on television

The popularity of watching sports around the world is growing rapidly due to the steady increase in television reach. With roughly 7 billion people on the planet, it is very difficult to choose which sports are the most watched. As different sports are played in different parts of the world and the debate regarding the most popular and most watched sport is going since ages as everyone supports their most loved sport. InsideSport takes a look at the top 10 list of most watched sports:

10. American Football - 380 Million

Having its origin from the USA, the games enjoy a lot of native fans. It is much more popular in the continent than in any other region in the world. With an estimated following of 380-400 million, the sport also generates the highest value in terms of revenue, estimated to be $10 billion annually.

9. Basketball - 400 million

The other sport that owes its origin to the United States attracts over 400 million fans around the world. With the leagues like NBA, the sport enjoys popularity all over the world unlike NFL. Top international talents are attracted to join the NBA and help make it more popular through their stardom.

8. Golf - 450 Million

Considered to be one of the oldest known sport, the Golf lacks the adrenaline pumping action, but creates tremendous addiction to hold its fans. The sport enjoys popularity across Europe, Asia and America. The focus on patience and personal skills are the key to this game and it has its ratio of good players which make it an enjoyable sport. It is estimated to enjoy as much as 450 million fans across the globe.

7. Baseball - 500 million

With an estimated 500 million fans, baseball is another one of the oldest known and American-led sport. The first league for the sport was created all the way back in 1876 and the sport has been growing since then. The sport other than America is also gaining popularity in Japan.

6. Table Tennis - 850 million

One of the most exciting sports, table tennis is a game which owes its popularity to the Asian countries like Indonesia, China, Malaysia and to some extent India as well. It has an estimated fan following of 850 million.

5. Volleyball - 900 Million

Being an extremely simple and easily accessible game, Volleyball is an extremely popular sport in the developing regions of the world such as Turkey, Korea, Poland, Brazil, Italy, France, and many other European and African countries. In Asia, the game restricts to the countries like China and Japan. With 900 million global following and over 200 national federations registered, Volleyball is the 5th most popular sports and has the most registered federations than any other sport.

4. Tennis - 1 billion

Tennis is also one of the oldest known sport and the only individual sport that enjoys this much popularity. The skills and power needed for the game makes it one of the most difficult sports to play. The estimated 1 billion fans around the globe are a direct result of the recent gains that the game has been able to make all across the globe. The players are widely considered and make the best of brand icons, promoting the sport all over the world.

3. Field Hockey - 2 billion

The National game of our nation, has an estimated global following of over 2 billion and sees its primary sphere of influence in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. While, it would be behind in comparison to cricket in India, the sport enjoys a global fan base and is not far behind cricket.

2. Cricket - 2.5 billion

The most followed sport in India and played across various parts of the globe, the game enjoys a huge fan base of 2.5 billion. The sport has grown to be a vastly popular sport in the UK, Asia, Australia and Africa. And with every major nation having a league of its own, the sport has been able to expand its popularity.

1. Association Football - 3.5 Billion

With a fan following of almost 3.5 billion from every continent, the sport remains at the top with no other game coming close to it. With its combination of adrenaline-pumping excitement, man-on-man aggression, tough competition, it’s really no wonder it comes on top.

InsideSport.co is a sports business news intelligence web portal. The portal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sporty Solutionz Private Limited (www.sportysolutionz.com), a company with 360° interest in the business of sports
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